The babe behind the brand
(Image above by living legend Cara Zozula)
Hi there! I’m Kobi Jae, the one-babe army behind Cutting Shapes Club.
You may know me as Horror Kitsch Bitch; my plus fashion blogging persona (admittedly completely neglected since this li’l biz here became so all-consuming)!
I’m a creative cat lady with she/they pronouns. Horror freak & general film fanatic. Drag & queer performance art lover. Late-life appreciator of pinball and wrestling.
A quick snapshot of how this brand started
It *really* all began when I was a bored and unhappy receptionist who discovered fat activism and the online fatshion community via body positivity bloggers. The intersection of all those things lit some roaring flames inside me!
In particular, Instagram in those days had no algorithm, and you chronologically saw the content of everyone you followed – it was so good for fostering community!! I’m so glad to have been around back then; I made some incredible, lifelong friends from all around the globe thanks to that special era of the platform.
Since then, one of my OG blogger pals Margot Meanie and I co-founded the @alternativecurves online community, to connect alt plus babes. I also later started @whatfatgirlsactuallywear after an article I wrote about H&M went a little bit viral (in the fat community). Being part of these groups helped me learn a lot about the thoughts & feels of our community…
I publicly said I’d do it – then I had to actually do it!
(My usual tactic)
In 2015 I finally admitted to myself (and Skorch Magazine…) that I really wanted to have a crack at designing and launching my own brand, and since then I’ve been working on Cutting Shapes Club in some way, shape or form.
Aside from being a self-taught sewer, I knew very little about pattern-making or the manufacturing process. It’s been a super wild and eye-opening experience that’s taken me so long to research, form business connections, and fund out of my own pocket.
Although I have no idea what the future holds for this brand, my main goal has always been to make a contribution back to my community. I hope this li’l Club did just that, and thank you for joining!